J.J. Abrams Says His Plan for Star Wars is to Honor But Not Revere

Although he successfully dodged several questions about the much-anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII when he took the stage at this evening’s Produced By Conference, J.J. Abrams did close out the panel by explaining what aspects of the franchise he feels are most important to capture in the new film.

“Talk about bigger than any of us,” he said. “That thing is so massive and so important to so many people. I know from seeing the first film when I was 11 what that felt like. I think the key in moving forward with something like this is in honoring but not revering what came before. There’s that deep feeling of infinite possibilities that I think was the ultimate thing I thought when I first saw ‘Star Wars’ which I would — and probably will — give my left arm to try and come close to again.”

Speaking to the more personal side of things, Abrams went on to explain how conflicted he has been about the project shooting in England. A champion of Los Angeles-based film production, Abrams is gearing up for a family move to the United Kingdom.

“[W]hen I came into it,” he said, “there was already a pre-arranged thing for them to be shooting in England which, really does make me insane. I’ve never shot a movie outside the US or out of L.A… We are, most likely, if all goes ahead, going to be moving to London at the end of the year… There’s a whole lot of stuff happening at home. It’s not an easy thing.”